Show card



Patented Apr. 23, 1935 .UNITED sT-AT-Es 2PATENT i OFI-'ICE sHow cARni Milton Reynolds, Chicago, 111. I "Application LJune 11, 1934, Serial No. 729,941'- s osams. (01; 40-1495 I This invention relates tol 'display cards and more particularly to displayL cards or show cards arrangedto be self-supporting' on a flat surface.

The present invention provides improvements in cards or blanks having means integral therewith and within the normal outlines of the card and normally in surface alignment therewith, and which may be formed by the user into a rigid supporting structure to support the card substantiallyvertical or slightly inclined on any suitable flat surfaceor support;

It is an object of the present invention to proi vide a show card formed of'a single Vblank which may be of any desired shape, preferably rectangular. The cards may be printed or otherwise decorated, and may be packed and Shipped in the form of flat blanks, and readily formed by the user into entirely self-supporting display cards. t

A furtherV object is the provision of a display card of the character described Which may' be easily and cheaply formed of a single blank, and in which the supporting means, forming apart of the blank, may be easily and quickly formed and interlocked to provide a substantiallyrigid support, and in which all of the supporting and bracing members are integral with a card,

A particular object is the provision of a display card which will be cheap 'to manufacture, con-Vy venient in use, and which may be packed in quan- A forrning one ofk the display cards and on which any desired display may be printed or otherwise reproduced. .v

Fig. 2 is a side view ofthe blank illustrated in Fig. 1 after the bracing and supporting members have been interlocked to provide a suitable support.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the back of the display card and illustrates the interlocking and supporting means.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the embodiment illustrated comprises a. blank which may be made from any suitable material, preferably cardboard, and which comprises a display portion I to receive any suitable advertising or other display matter.

This blank is sheared adjacent the lower opposite corners on the lines indicated by the reference numerals 2, 3 and 4 to form oppositely disposed short tongues 5 and somewhat similar oppositely dsposed long bracing or looking tongues and l'. The card isalso scoredl or otherwise indented on lines correspondingto the ang'ulardotted lines 8 whereby, when the supporting tongues 5 are bent rearwardly along this scored line, they will take an angular position relativeV to the display portion I, whereby the card, when supported on these tongues or tabs, will be slightly inclined rearwardly as indicated in Fig. 2. 'v I v The bracing'or truss tongues S and 'I are somewhat longer than the supporting tongues 5 thereby providing downwardly extending portions 9 adjacent their ends. These downwardly extending portions are, in the present embodiment, provided with V-shaped slots III to engage'the respective supporting tongues 5 when the parts are interlockedfi 'I'he V-shapedslots I!! may be dispensed with if desired, and the downwardly extending portions 9 may be merely sheared at this point if desired, althoughtheV-shapedslots provide'a somewhat more convenient structure.

The long tongues 6 'and 'I'are provided with oppositelyv disposed notches II and I2 intermediate their ends. jThese'notches are preferably Shaped substantially as indicated in Fig. 41, although they may be sheared or slotted, and are substantially one-half the width of vthe tongues, whereby the tongues 6 and 1 may be bent rearwardly along the scored lines 8, and thesenotches may then interengage with the tongu'es crossed and in alignment.

' In manufacture, the cards are sheared, scored and notched as indicatedin Fignl, and may be suitably printed or otherwise decorated, andmay then be packed flat in a comparatively small space and delivered toL the user in the flat form shown in Fig. l1.'

In preparing'the' cards for support on a flat surface, the user bendsall of the tonsues 5, 6 and 1 rearwardly along'the dotted'lines 8. The tongues 6 and 'I are crossed and then interlocked by means of the notches II and I2, and the tongues 5 are engaged in the V-shaped slots II) adjacent the ends of the tongues 6 and 'I, thereby forming a completely braced and trussed rearwardly extending supporting structure as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3.

It will be understood, of course, that the display cards may be of any suitable size and shape adapted to be sheared and formed to provide a suitable interlocking self-supporting structure such as disclosed herein.

It will be apparent that the supporting tongues 5 and the bracing or interlocking tongues 6 and 'I may be bent either rearwardly or forwardly, and, due to'the angular scoring 8, the cardslwill be suitably inclined from the vertical when the tongues are interlocked in either direction.

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Therefore, either or both sides of the cards may be used when desired. The cards may be left blank, and the user may add any desired display matter on either or both sides, or they may be suitably decorated before delivery to the user. The support is equally efficient When interlocked in either direction.

Modifications may be made in the embodiment herein illustrated and described, and it is therefore desired that the invention be limited only by the prior art and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described this invention what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A display card comprising a display portion having a pair of oppositely disposed supporting tongues adjacent its lower edge, a pair of oppositely disposed bracing tongues between said supporting tongues and said display portionand adjacent and in a plane substantially parallel With said supporting tongues, said bracing tongues being arranged to cross in the same plane and to interlock With each other, one pair of tongues having portions extending into the plane of the other pair and arranged to interlock therewith when all of said tongues are bent either forwardly cr rearwardly.

2. A display card having two laterally extending adjacent parallel tongues at each lower corner and bendable forward or backward from inclined lines on opposite sides of the median line, two of said tongues being arranged to cross and interlock with each other and with the uncrossed tongues. i

3. A self-supporting display card of the character described comprising a blank having oppositely disposed supporting tongues, and oppositely disposed bracing tongues adjacent thereto, said bracing tongues having interlocking means intermediate their ends arranged to permit them to be crossed in the samevplane, and portions on said bracing tongues for overlapping interlocking engagement with said supporting tongues 'whereby all of said tongues form an interlocking self-sup-.

character described comprising a display portion and laterally extending tongues sheared therefrom and extending from angular scored lines on opposite sides of the median line, one set of oppositely disposed tongues terminating short of the lateral edges of said card, each of the long tongues extending to both the lateral edges and the bottom edge, slots adjacent the ends of said long tongues to interlock with the opposite short tongues when all of said tongues are moved to selfsupporting position, said long tongues having oppositely disposed inter-enga'giog notches intermediate their ends.

6; A display card formed of a single blank having laterally sheared oppositely disposed tongues, said card being angularly scored at the base of said tongues to form hinges to angularly position said tongues relative to the face of said card when they are moved out of surface alignment therewith, said tongues comprising oppositely disposed bracing tongues extending to the lateral edges of said card, supporting tongues shorter than said bracing tongues and their ends overlapped thereby, oppositely disposed notches in said bracing tongues for interengagement, and said overlapping portions being arranged to interengage with said supporting tongues to form a braced selfsupporting structure.

7. A self-supporting display card of the character described comprising a display portion, a plurality of laterally sheared .tongues adjacent each bottom corner of said card and sheared outwardly from angular lines on opposite sides of the median line, said tongues comprising supporting tongues intermediate the lateral edges of said card and adjacent the bottom edge and arranged to fbe bent rearwardly in substantially parallel relation, and bracing tongues between said supporting tongues and the display portion and arranged to be crossed and interlocked with each other and with said supporting tongues to provide a substantially rigid self-supporting structure.

8. A unitary self-supporting display -card of the character described comprising a display portion and laterally extending tongues sheared therefrom and extending from angular lines on opposite sides of the median line, one set of oppositely disposed tongues terminating short of the lateral edges of said card, each of the long tongues extending to both the lateral edges and overlying the ends of the short tongues, slots adjacent the ends of said long tongues to interlock with the opposite short tongues when all of said tongues are moved to self-supporting position, said long tongues having oppositely disposed inter-engaging notches intermediate their ends.

MILTON REYNOLDS 

